"His cold seemed much worse when he arrived in Washington last night," McDonald said. "He requested a leave of absence on Monday because he did not feel well enough to vote after his flight to D.C. was postponed by more than six hours yesterday in Greensboro."

McDonald said Coble visited a physician at the capitol who determined that he needed to be hospitalized for observation.

Coble is expected to remain hospitalized over the next four to five days, McDonald said.